More pictures from the Rann
Toxic Waste kept for Safe Disposal in Bharuch Catches Fire
A Fire at a facility especially set up to safely store and dispose of hazardous waste at Ankleshwar in Bharuch district of Gujarat has revealed how callously dangerous waste is managed in the country. In what could have been an industrial disaster worse than the Bhopal gas tragedy, 250 tonnes of hazardous chemicals and oil kept in barrels at Bharuch Enviro Infrastructure Limited (beil)—of which pesticide giant United Phosphorus is a major equity shareholder—went up in smoke on the evening of April 3. The godown had stored over 12,800 tonnes of hazardous chemical solvents and waste oil, which far exceed the capacity of its incinerator.
“Had it not been for the change in wind direction within 10 minutes of the fire, it could have spread to and destroyed all the nearby factories in the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (gidc) and villages”
says Manoj Kotadia, manager, fire and safety, Disaster Prevention and Management Centre, Ankleshwar. Continue reading »
Filed under Environment, India, Pollution, Travel | Tags: Bharuch, Chemical Industry, Chemical Leakages, Gujarat, Hazardous Industry, Hazardous Waste, Health Effects, India, Legislation, Pesticide Industry, Waste Disposal, Waste Incineration | Comment (0)No Return of The Native
Wizened old Jidemadamma has to depend on her neighbours for meals. Her son and daughter-in-law have gone to Kodagu to collect pepper from trees and will not be back before two weeks. They took the children along because I cannot move around much. Earlier, all of us stayed together here. Now there is nobody, says the septuagenarian, sitting outside her hut in Kaneri Colony, one of the 62 hamlets in Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Wildlife Sanctuary in southern Karnataka.
Jidemadamma is among the few Soligas, an indigenous community, left in the hamlet. Soligas, literally meaning the bamboo children, are known for their environment-friendly practices and sustainable collection of minor forest produce. But most have migrated in search of livelihood since the government banned collection of non-timber forest produce ‘honey, lichen, amla, soapberry and soapnut’ their main source of income, about two years ago. Same is the story in other hamlets inside the sanctuary in the Western Ghats. Continue reading »
Filed under Environment, India, Travel, WildLife | Tags: Forest Fires, Forest Policy, Forest Products, Forest Rights Act 2006, India, Karnataka, Lantana, Legislation, Migration, Minor Forest Produce, Sanctuaries, Tribals, Western Ghats | Comment (0)We Have been Cheated
RAVLEEN KAUR talks to three donors, Rajendra Kumar, Shahid and Dileep, who were duped by Amit Kumar. They were rescued from a flat in Faridabad on February 8. Rajendra Kumar did most of the talking.
How did you come into contact with Amit Kumar?
We met a person at the Old Delhi Railway Station who took us to a Faridabad guesthouse to work as cooks. We were told the guesthouse was frequented by foreigners very finicky about health matters. So we were asked to undergo medical tests. But no sooner were the tests conducted we fell unconscious. I saw Amit Kumar and one Vicky before falling unconscious. I woke up with severe abdominal pain. Continue reading »
Filed under News, Travel | Tags: Illegal, Kidney Donors | Comment (0)